Exclusive: 'India is the Strongest, They will win it' - Monty Panesar backs Rohit Sharma and co. to win T20 World Cup

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Former England cricketer Monty Panesar has tipped India to go on and win the T20 World Cup and has nullified the criticism of Rohit Sharma.

India is set to play against England in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup on Thursday (June 27), and Panesar believes the team has every ingredient to clinch the trophy.

After a superb group stages, India went on to triumph in the Super Eight as well with three victories. And Panesar believes the smartness and the bowling arsenal of Rohit Sharma and his troops give them an advantage in the final stages.

"I think India is the strongest team at the moment. And I believe they will go on to win it. They have to be smart and strategic, but they have a smart team. The bowling attack is excellent and they are the favourites," Panesar said to MyKhel in an exclusive interview.

At the start of the tournament, India captain Rohit Sharma faced criticism for his captaincy. A few of his strategies were questioned and many experts slammed the India skipper for procrastinating on some decisions. But Panesar has a completely different view of it.

"What criticism! Rohit Sharma has been brilliant. He has adapted superbly to the conditions. I don't know why people criticized him earlier! Sometimes a captain needs a bit of time to adjust. He has full belief in his team and that has been present all along," Panesar adds when asked about the criticism of the India captain.

India will take on England at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. If the Men in Blue win, they will face South Africa in the Final on Saturday in Barbados, who earlier qualified for the championship clash after beating Afghanistan.